IPL 2022 auction: Want to play for Sunrisers Hyderabad again, says former India u-19 captain Priyam Garg | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Young batting sensation Priyam Garg, who captained India to the final of the 2020 ICC u-19 World Cup, played two Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons with Sunrisers Hyderabad (2020 and 2021) and is expecting the Orange Army to pick him once again when the IPL 2022 Mega Auction takes place in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
Priyam has set his base price at Rs 20 lakh. He was bought for Rs 1.90 crore by Sunrisers in the IPL 2020 Auction.
A total of 590 cricketers are set to go under the hammer this time. 228 are capped players, 355 are uncapped players and 7 belong to Associate Nations.

(BCCI/IPL Photo)
“I want to play for Sunrisers Hyderabad again. I want to stay with them because I have been with them for two years and I have learnt a lot there and I share a very good bond with them. I want to play for the team for whom I have been playing,” Priyam told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview.
The 21-year-old Priyam, who scored 205 runs in 19 IPL matches at an average of 14.64, credited former Sunrisers’ team mentor VVS Laxman for helping him improve his batting.

Garg with Laxman (BCCI/IPL Photo)
“IPL is a big platform and not just me, every player has got a lot of exposure because of this big tournament. I have learned a lot while playing in the IPL. You share space with star players, listen to their experiences and take tips from them. IPL helps a lot while playing international cricket. I am really thankful that I have got the opportunity with Sunrisers Hyderabad. I have had a wonderful experience with Sunrisers,” the 21 year old from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh further said.
“I got to share the dressing room with star players like Kane Williamson, David Warner, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Manish Pandey, Rashid Khan and of course the legend VVS Laxman. He (Laxman) has helped me a lot in improving my batting. He always advised me to just believe in myself, believe in my talent and keep my strong points ready when I am on the field,” Priyam, who received the Man of the Match award for scoring an unbeaten 51 off 26 balls against Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2020, his maiden IPL fifty, further said.

Garg with Dhoni. (BCCI/IPL Photo)
MEETING ‘IDOL’ DHONI AND PLAYING FOR INDIA
Priyam has always idolised MS Dhoni when it comes to batting or captaincy. He was the captain of the India Under-19 team at the 2020 u-19 World Cup where his team finished as runners up, losing the summit clash to Bangladesh. He watches Dhoni’s batting and captaincy videos to learn the art of captaincy.
But it was the IPL which fulfilled Priyam’s dream of meeting Dhoni.
Just after being adjudged Man of the Match for his unbeaten fifty against the Chennai Super Kings in 2020, Priyam rushed to meet Dhoni and talk to him.
“I just keep calm when it comes to batting or leading the side. This is something I learnt from Dhoni sir. IPL gave me the opportunity to meet him and discuss my game and take a lot of knowledge from him. He is a legend of the game. Before the IPL, I watched his batting videos and the clips of him setting the field in crucial situations. I have played two seasons for SRH so far and in both seasons whenever I got the chance, I went to Dhoni sir and met him and discussed my game. ‘Work hard and maintain your fitness level’ – these are the two things he asked me to focus on in order to play cricket for a long time. He taught me how to analyse the game and different situations,” Priyam further told TimesofIndia.com.

Garg with Williamson (BCCI/IPL Photo)
“The u-19 World Cup taught me how to handle pressure. When you play domestic cricket, you don’t have that much pressure, but when you play for India, you are under a lot of pressure because you are carrying a billion expectations. You are representing India. When I led the u-19 Indian team, I learnt how to handle pressure, how to play and use players wisely in crunch situations,” Priyam further said.
Many cricketers who played for India at the Under-19 World Cups over the years have gone on to represent the Indian senior team, including the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey, Ravindra Jadeja, Venugopal Rao, Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw.
Priyam too wants to join that list.
“It’s a dream of every cricketer to represent his country. I am grateful that I am able to play for the junior team. But I want to play for the senior team someday and play for as long as possible. That’s the ultimate dream,” Priyam signed off.